Shine On
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ARTISTS CREATE COSMIC WONDERLAND
SAFETY HARBOR -- Behold the future: It is wrapped in holographic Mylar, accented with cobalt-blue glass, and glitters like a starry night. There's a spaceship, silver reindeer and robots made from kitchen utensils. To celebrate the millennium, local artists Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda have transformed their yard into this cosmic wonderland they call "Shine On." The couple, known for their whimsical art pieces and decorative cars, say this is their sixth and last holiday installation. Guests can stroll among the robots, past a giant torch with real flames and a fountain, and take in the sparkle of an estimated 5,000 music compact discs that adorn, well, everything. |
The yard of Kiaralinda and Todd Ramquist glows Friday night. [Times photos: Scott Keeler]
The buildings are enveloped in more than 24,000 square feet of silver Mylar; everything else is covered in tinfoil.
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Their home, gallery and gazebo are enveloped in more than 24,000 square feet of silver Mylar that reflects a rainbow image when hit with light. All the "regular" stuff one would find in a yard -- lawn ornaments, planters, tree trunks -- has been wrapped in tinfoil.
"We're going into the millennium," said Kiaralinda, who goes by the single name. "Everyone is not sure what the future is going to be. We want to go into it with a really positive attitude. It's the last one, and we want it to "shine on' in people's mind."
With the help of about 100 volunteers and 40 Girl Scouts, the couple began building the installation Dec. 1. But they have been collecting the pieces for a year.
"We're going into the millennium," said Kiaralinda, who goes by the single name. "Everyone is not sure what the future is going to be. We want to go into it with a really positive attitude. It's the last one, and we want it to "shine on' in people's mind."
With the help of about 100 volunteers and 40 Girl Scouts, the couple began building the installation Dec. 1. But they have been collecting the pieces for a year.
Kiaralinda and Todd Ramquist decorated with help of 100 volunteers and 40 Girl Scouts.
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They put the word out to friends that they were looking for futuristic, silvery items for an end-of-year installation. They got things like vacuum cleaner hoses that they used for their spaceship, computer monitors that they made into faces, kitchen utensils that became robot body pieces and plastic silver wheels that fence their yard. There is no master plan to "Shine On." Kiaralinda and Ramquist entrusted their friends, some of whom also are artists, with constructing different elements using their own imagination. "It evolves," Kiaralinda said. "It's organic." |
On Friday, friends bustled around applying finishing touches. In the studio, Heather Richardson of Belleair was taping globs of scrunched-up tinfoil to a refrigerator. "It gives the room texture," she said.
"This makes me feel more in the spirit of things," Richardson said. "People get too much into giving a gift as opposed to giving something that going to be great for everyone."
The couple travel the world with their artwork and invited dozens of friends to Safety Harbor for a kickoff party Friday night. Missouri painter Paul E., a longtime friend, came from St. Louis just to take part in the installation.
"This is a part of them you can't miss if you know them," Paul E. said. "It sums up everything about them, their energy."
With tinfoil and electric tape, Paul E. was creating a sign that read "Mod Pod Disco" to hang in the gazebo.
"It's the state-of-the-art vinyl lettering everyone is in a buzz about," he joked.
The installation will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. Visitors will be invited to write a message for the millennium on either a CD or a slip of Mylar that will then be hung like an ornament. Later, Kiaralinda and Ramquist will collect the messages in a time capsule and bury it in their yard.
By DEBORAH O'NEIL / © St. Petersburg Times, published December 18, 1999 / Available online here
"This makes me feel more in the spirit of things," Richardson said. "People get too much into giving a gift as opposed to giving something that going to be great for everyone."
The couple travel the world with their artwork and invited dozens of friends to Safety Harbor for a kickoff party Friday night. Missouri painter Paul E., a longtime friend, came from St. Louis just to take part in the installation.
"This is a part of them you can't miss if you know them," Paul E. said. "It sums up everything about them, their energy."
With tinfoil and electric tape, Paul E. was creating a sign that read "Mod Pod Disco" to hang in the gazebo.
"It's the state-of-the-art vinyl lettering everyone is in a buzz about," he joked.
The installation will continue to evolve in the coming weeks. Visitors will be invited to write a message for the millennium on either a CD or a slip of Mylar that will then be hung like an ornament. Later, Kiaralinda and Ramquist will collect the messages in a time capsule and bury it in their yard.
By DEBORAH O'NEIL / © St. Petersburg Times, published December 18, 1999 / Available online here
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